Just heard back from Hodges. They are charging me about $180 to clean and repair the sail. They need to redo about 3 patches on the luff that were really getting bulky and hard to pass on the luff track. That sounds very reasonable to me. Cleaning was about $60 of that which I thought was a little steep but I'd rather pay it and know it was done right by people who breathe and work sails. Should be about 2 weeks before I get the sail back.

Hi everyone and nice to meet you yesterday at Jordan, Garrett. I'm the fellow with the 16 with all the "character".

This site has proven to be really helpful in getting my new-to-me 81 H16 back on the water after many years of neglect. All it took was one ride offered by a nice guy that had been shuttling beach-goers all day at surf city beach and I was hooked...

Look forward to meeting up and sailing with folks in central NC and on the coast.

I went out on Saturday but due to time constraints I headed to Farrington rd. it had been a while since I've used that boat ramp but I'm glad I did. I actually prefer rigging and putting in at Farrington than vista. It has a really great beach at the bottom of the first boat ramp. It also seems that all of the motor boats stay over at the bigger second boat ramp. I don't have four wheel drive so I couldn't put the boat in the water while still on the trailer but I was able to easily slide the boat off and then pull it around to the nice sandy beach and rig the boat. I thought I'd have to use the busy boat launch to pull the boat out but the hobie hopped right up onto my trailer with the help of a hand winch.

Best part is its only about a 10-15 minute drive for means its free! For those of you looking for alternative access to jordan lake you might want to consider it.

The sail was actually done last week. It took them about 3 days to turn it around from the day they received it. They only take checks so I had to mail them the money and I finally got the sail yesterday. The repairs look very sturdy and clean. Should make raising the sail much easier. Not sure how I feel about paying $60 to wash it. It does look a little shinier but overall didn't think it was worth the extra money. But as I said I'm pretty happy with the repairs. Weather is looking good for the weekend so I'll have a chance to give it a test run this weekend at Jordan assuming I get my track all riveted in. I'll probably be going back to Farrington. That beach and ramp are just to perfect.

Not sure how I feel about paying $60 to wash it. It does look a little shinier but overall didn't think it was worth the extra money.

I wonder, and suspect, the cleaning has a purpose that is more than just cosmetic. A good cleaning can do more than we can with a garden hose over the sails on the lawn. Probably removes salts, minerals from lake water, pollution, and damaging small grit - all of which in turn should extend the life of the sail material. Not saying the price may have been high overall just that there are probably more benefits than how it looks before/after and was a wise choice for you to make.

And thanks for keeping us posted on the results hellcat.

Oh, I can't recall if you said but was this for mainsail and jib?

[Note: we are probably not out on Norman this w.e. - crew is working on college admission essays]

Looks like Saturday and Sunday could be decent. This afternoon is looking fantastic but I can't get out of work today. Anybody heading out to Jordan? I just have to be back to Durham by 5pm to drink lots of beers at the scrap exchange. Wife may or may not come with me so I might be solo if someone wants to hop on board or I can crew your boat with you.